-- Black women face disproportionately high breast cancer death rates despite not having the highest rate of diagnosis, according to the American Cancer Society. This is the reason thousands of Jacksonville residents will gather at VyStar Ballpark on Saturday, October 3, for the 11th annual Law Offices of Ron Sholes Sista Strut, a walk organizers describe as the largest event of its kind in Jacksonville dedicated to breast cancer awareness in women of color. This year marks the eighth year The Law Offices of Ron Sholes, P.A. has served as the walk's presenting sponsor.
The walk begins at 8:30 a.m. and is presented locally by iHeartMedia's 93.3 The Beat and V101.5. About 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, American Cancer Society estimates show, and Sista Strut was built around a direct response to that reality: raise awareness, connect participants with screening resources, and celebrate the survivors already living it.
Survivors are the center of the day. Participants who have completed treatment receive beaded survivor necklaces, they also usually get a different shirt to wear to the event and organizers bring survivors on stage to be recognized in front of the crowd. Every registered walker gets a 2026 pink Sista Strut t-shirt. The event's mission has stayed consistent since it began: heighten awareness of breast cancer in women of color, point people toward health resources, encourage early detection, and honor the people who have already fought the disease.
That consistency has a history behind it. The Law Offices of Ron Sholes, P.A. became presenting sponsor in 2019, and the walk has happened every year since, regardless of circumstances. In 2020, organizers moved the event into neighborhoods as a virtual strut during the pandemic. In 2022, Hurricane Ian forced a five-week postponement, pushing the walk from October 1 to November 5, and the community returned anyway. Through a pandemic, severe weather, and changing circumstances, the walk has continued.
“Our clients, our neighbors, and people inside our own firm have faced breast cancer. We keep showing up for the same reason the community does: no one should have to face the fight alone,” said Ron Sholes, founder of The Law Offices of Ron Sholes, P.A.
The firm's involvement goes beyond its name on event banners. Attorneys and staff work the vendor area, walk the route alongside thousands of fellow Strutters, and help energize the crowd from the stage, recognizing survivors, encouraging those still in treatment, and acknowledging the families walking beside them. In 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, the firm hosted Sista Strut registration and packet pick-up events at its Jacksonville and Orange Park offices, in the past they brought in the Baptist Health Buddy Bus mobile mammography unit so people could register and get screened in the same visit. Awareness is important, but awareness is most powerful when it helps connect people with resources they can actually use.
That access point matters because early detection works. Breast cancer death rates have fallen 44% since 1989, a decline the American Cancer Society attributes largely to finding breast cancer earlier through screening and increased awareness, along with better treatments.
A portion of event proceeds has benefited the Sisters Network of Northeast Florida, the survivor-run Jacksonville chapter of Sisters Network Inc., a national African American breast cancer survivorship organization. For 2026, organizers have named Sisters Network Northeast Florida and The Pink Queen B Foundation as beneficiaries. The people walking are not statistics. They are mothers, daughters, sisters, coworkers, survivors, and caregivers, some celebrating survival, some honoring someone they lost, and some walking mid-treatment.
“Whether you're a survivor, you're in the middle of the fight, or you're walking for someone you love, there is a place for you on October 3,” Sholes said.
The Event details are as follows:
Registration Rallies
Sept 23, 12pm-2pm - Westside Office - 6850 103rd St., Jacksonville, FL 32210
Sept 25, 12pm-2pm - Main Office - 4811 Atlantic Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32207
Saturday, October 3, 2026, 8:30 a.m., VyStar Ballpark, 301 A. Philip Randolph Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32202.
Registration: Advance registration is $15 per person through October 2 via the RaceRoster event page (search “Law Offices of Ron Sholes Sista Strut”). Registration is $20 on event day. Every team member registers individually. Registration includes the 2026 pink Sista Strut t-shirt, and survivors receive beaded necklaces.
Free mammograms: The Baptist Health Buddy Bus will offer free 3D screening mammograms on-site from 8 a.m. to noon.
Stay connected: For information about future Sista Strut events and related activities, email [email protected]
About The Law Offices of Ron Sholes, P.A.
The Law Offices of Ron Sholes, P.A. is a Northeast Florida personal injury law firm founded in 2003 by U.S. Navy Gulf War veteran Ron Sholes, who opened the firm's first office in Starke before growing the practice to six offices across Jacksonville, Orange Park, Starke, and Palatka. Today the firm's attorneys represent people hurt in car, trucking, motorcycle, pedestrian, and bicycle accidents, as well as families facing premises liability, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death claims including multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of injured clients.
Guided by its values of strength, compassion, and integrity and its motto “You Hurt? We Fight!,” the firm has been a longtime presence in the communities it serves: presenting sponsor of the Law Offices of Ron Sholes Sista Strut and the City of Jacksonville Veterans Day Parade, and host of an annual Thanksgiving Basket Drive for Northeast Florida families since 2005. Learn more at youhurtwefight.com or call (904) 805-1500.
Contact Info:
Name: Nina Perkins, Operations Director
Email: Send Email
Organization: The Law Offices of Ron Sholes, P.A.
Address: Jacksonville, FL, United States
Phone: (904) 805-1500
Website: https://youhurtwefight.com/
Release ID: 89204268
Google
RSS